<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>the lamp and the sun by malicecharity</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23230411">the lamp and the sun</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/malicecharity/pseuds/malicecharity'>malicecharity</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fair Game Stories [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fair Game Week 2020, Getting Together, Heavy on Comfort, Light on hurt, M/M, Nightmares, This is mostly fluff actually, day 5: Hurt/Comfort</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 12:22:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,178</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23230411</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/malicecharity/pseuds/malicecharity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Qrow is woken by a knock on the door late at night. He's expecting Ruby or Yang, but he's wrong.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fair Game Stories [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665880</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>94</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the lamp and the sun</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Qrow had actually gone to sleep at a reasonable time, so naturally, he’s woken in the dead of night by a knock on his door (because the universe would rather anything happen than let Qrow get a solid eight hours). He groans and screws his eyes shut, putting his pillow over his head, but another knock at the door interrupts his attempt to pretend nobody is there. Normally he would drag his feet to get up so late, especially since the knock isn’t urgent, but something about the sound is so cautious and so soft, it alarms him just as much as an emergency would have. </p><p>With a sigh Qrow sits up and casts off the blanket, then stands. He stretches and walks to the door, opening it and bracing himself from the influx of light from the hallway. When he opens his eyes again, he’s expecting Ruby or maybe even Yang, but he turns out to be wrong. </p><p>Clover stands a few feet in front of him, arms hugging his sides protectively and eyes downcast. His gaze darts to Qrow, as if surprised to see him there despite his knocking. After seeing Qrow’s disheveled state, he averts his eyes once more and purses his lips. </p><p>“Sorry to disturb you so late, I just… I just needed to see you.” </p><p>Qrow’s voice is rough with sleep. “Clover, what’s wrong?” </p><p>The man sighs and bites his lip, shifting on his feet. “I—it’s stupid, I—well, I dreamt that you had been hurt, and—” </p><p>Qrow cuts his rambling short by opening the door wider and stepping to the side. “You should come inside,” he says softly. Clover looks at him, face blank with momentary shock, before he walks past Qrow and stands rather helplessly in the middle of the floor. Qrow brushes past him to turn on the desk lamp and then goes back to close the door. He turns and leans against it, looking back at the Ace Op, who’s facing the wall. “You wanna talk about it?” Qrow asks, and Clover looks at him. </p><p>“I just needed to make sure you were okay,” Clover breathes. “I—I couldn’t take it if something happened to you.” Qrow’s chest flutters, and he smiles a little bit, but it fades when he observes how subdued Clover is, lacking his usual smile and glint in his eye. He pads over to the man, shivering at the feeling of the cold metal floor against his feet, and then places his hand on Clover’s bicep. </p><p>“I’m here,” Qrow whispers, “I’m okay,” and Clover looks so beautiful in this moment, the soft yellow light of the lamp illuminating his face and casting the rest of the room in a gentle shadow. His skin glows a burnished gold, and the small smile that Clover gives him is a sight to behold. Qrow feels a burning warmth in his chest, flooding his heart and his lungs and rising up in his throat. </p><p>Clover turns to him and places his other hand where Qrow’s lies on his arm. “And I’m so glad to know it,” he murmurs, eyes gone soft. </p><p>“You sure you don’t wanna talk about it?” Clover shakes his head. </p><p>“Not tonight.” Qrow stares at him for a moment before nodding, and then trails his hand down Clover’s arm until he takes Clover’s hand in his own, then tugs him gently over to the bed, sitting down. Clover stays standing, though still holding onto his hand, and gives him a confused look. “Qrow?” </p><p>Qrow rolls his eyes. “Just get in.” He lets go of his hand and scoots over, pulling the blanket over himself and laying down. He can sense Clover hesitating by the edge of the bed before tentatively lifting up the covers and getting in, though he keeps his distance. They lay in silence for a few minutes before Clover speaks up. </p><p>“Qrow?” He whispers, and Qrow hums, turning over to look at Clover. They’re facing each other, but Qrow can barely make out Clover’s face because of the shadow cast by the lamp. “Please… for me… keep yourself safe.” </p><p>Qrow huffs softly. “You—you really care about me that much to worry about me like that?” There’s a moment of silence before he feels a hand curl around his forearm. </p><p>“Qrow,” Clover breathes. The blankets rustle as he shifts closer, and then a warm arm settles across his stomach, hand resting at his waist. Qrow cautiously puts his hand on the wide expanse of Clover’s back, effectively sandwiching the man between Qrow’s torso and his arm. Clover’s head lays on his shoulder and he can feel warm breath on the side of his neck. “Qrow.” </p><p>“Yeah?” </p><p>“You know how I feel,” Clover whispers, and Qrow can feel his chest flooding with warmth again, his heart picking up the pace, sending that buzz through every vein in his body until he’s high on it. </p><p>He’s silent for a few moments, gathering the courage to let the words fall past his lips. “And you know the way I feel too,” he whispers. Clover hugs him closer and burrows his head into the crook of Qrow’s neck. He can feel the light, soft pressure of lips to his neck; not a kiss, just a press. </p><p>“Let’s go to sleep,” Clover says, lips brushing against Qrow’s neck again, and at this he can feel his heart drop out of his body, spiraling down and down until he closes his eyes to the soft lamplight and falls away in the dark.</p><hr/><p>Bright sunlight seeps into the room and awakes Qrow when it creeps up his face and shines on his eyelids. It fills his sleepy vision with bright white until he opens his eyes completely, taking in the scene before him. </p><p>He and Clover are arranged in largely the same fashion as they were last night—Clover with his arm splayed across Qrow’s stomach, Qrow’s hand resting on his back. Qrow turns his head to see Clover’s face. The other man is still asleep, slow breaths warming his face in even intervals. He grazes a thumb in lazy strokes across Clover’s back, just below his shoulder blades. Clover shifts a little in his sleep, causing their noses to brush. Qrow flushes a bit, and he holds his breath when Clover makes a small noise before his eyes flutter open. </p><p>Red eyes lock on teal, holding each other in place. The morning light falls over their faces, and their breaths intermingle as they rest only a few centimeters from one another. Then, slowly, as if in a dream, Clover’s arm trails up Qrow’s side, coming to land on his cheek. Clover lifts himself up slightly, hovering just a bit over the other man. Qrow turns to lean into Clover’s palm, their eyes locking again, and then Clover descends slowly, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. </p><p>Qrow wraps his arm more securely around Clover’s back, pulling him in closer, and their lips meet again, gentle and slow and warm, in the light of the lamp and the sun. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i said fuck it and wrote this in an hour. it's way shorter than i imagined and much lighter on the fluff but im kinda happy with how it turned out! hope you like it :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>